Chasing Perfection
by sunshinelemonaid
Summary: High school AU, everyone is human as well. Miranda Lawson is perfection incarnate-but what happens when she finds out she has competition? FShep and MShep are twins. Femshawson, Shortez, Talibrations, and more.
1. Ch 1--Childhood

"Get outta the way, shrimp."

Helene was shoved to the ground, books spilling out of her arms, and she grumbled, kneeling down and picking them up. She felt her head get shoved down, straight into the corner of her book, her forehead cut open.

"Fuck!" She looked up, furious—of course. It was fucking Rick, smirking at her like he owned her. Not today. She pushed the books aside and stood slowly, never breaking eye contact.

"What do you want, Bryson?" Her hands curled into loose fists, but she didn't raise them, waiting for him to make the first move.

"You back on your knees, Shepard." He ground his hips lewdly in her direction, throwing his head back and laughing, screaming in pain when her foot slammed into his groin. He crumpled, clutching his balls—then screamed again as her foot swung across his face, everyone stopping in the school halls as they heard the crack—she'd broken his jaw. She picked up her books and walked off, allowing him to lie there, bleeding and in pain. She'd deal with the trouble later.

For a twelve year old, she sure got in a lot of trouble.

Miranda swung her feet as her nanny brushed her hair back, getting her ready for bed. She was dressed in a pink nightgown (her favourite colour,) smiling up at Miss Ginger, who tied her hair back with a pink ribbon.

"Go say good night to your father, love," she murmured, gesturing to the door.

"Yes ma'am," the little girl said prettily, sliding off the seat and grabbing her stuffed kitten (Duchess, she had named her,) and walked down the long hall to her father's study—the door was closed, so she knocked politely and awaited the order to enter.

"Come in, Miranda." Henry Lawson's voice was sharp and cold, instead of warm and inviting as it had been previously. Miri felt a chill go down her spin as she entered, noticing how her father's chair faced away from the door, instead of towards it; he had seen her report card. No wonder he hadn't been down to dinner.

"Come here." The little girl fearfully ventured forth, sticking a lock of hair in her mouth to chew on, a nervous habit she'd developed. He turned in his chair and gave her a look of disgust. "Take your hair out of your mouth, that's a despicable habit to have."

She spit it out immediately, looking miserable. "I'm sorry, Father," she said softly.

"What is this?" He tossed the report card on the desk, and she timidly approached, picking up the slip.

"It is my report card, Father." Her stomach clenched and unclenched.

"And what, Miranda, is the grade next to mathematics?"

Miranda's jaw worked, trying to keep in the number.

"Miranda. I asked you a question. _What is the grade_?"

"…A ninety-five, sir…"

He stood, walking over to the fire crackling in the fireplace. It was a chilly night, and the room was warm, but there was a frost in this room that encased Miranda, and she shivered, clutching Duchess to her tightly, wanting to disappear into the floor.

"A ninety-five. Good, /but not good enough./ I expect nothing but perfection from you, Miranda, and this is less than perfection." He turned and leveled a frigid glare at her. "You are a disappointment." He waved his hand at her and turned back to the fire. She was dismissed.

Miranda stood, rooted to the floor, tears filling her big blue eyes. She dragged her feet as she walked out, whispering, "Good night, Father," as she closed the door, the tears spilling out as she fled to her room, tripping over the hem of her gown a few times. She threw herself onto her bed, sobbing her little heart. She was a disappointment. She had made a mistake.

She_ was_ a mistake.


	2. Chapter 2--First Day

"Have a good day at school, Miss Lawson," murmured Owen as she stepped out of her father's car.

"Thank you, Owen. I shall see you at five." She walked forward confidently, trying to shake the nerves that filled her stomach as she strutted past the wrought iron gates of Jorus Vyrnnus School for the Gifted. She clutched her bag to her side tightly, smoothing down the skirt of her uniform, and took a glance down at her schedule once again. She had nothing but advanced classes (of course,) several of which were to be taken with the upperclassmen of the school.

"Room 459," she muttered, glancing up at the foreboding brick building—one of five, two storied buildings. She walked up the steps of the closest one, eyes wandering around it for any sort of marker as to what rooms it held.

Ah. There we were. A bronze plaque to the right of the doors read "400-500 Hall," and so Miranda entered, beginning to search for the appropriate room where one Mr. Rayya was holding his Technological Advances and Designs class. A group had formed outside the class, several jejune freshmen milling about. Miri sidled in beside a young woman wearing a purple hijab—she admired the wave pattern on it, tracing it with her eyes.

"It isn't polite to stare," pointed out a quiet voice. Miranda blinked, realizing it was the girl before her who had spoken.

"I apologize. The pattern on your hijab is lovely; I haven't seen one quite like it before." She offered a friendly smile, which was returned almost immediately.

"Thank you!" She patted it down, looking pleased. "I actually designed it myself. By the way, I'm Tali, Tali Rayya." She offered Miranda a hand to shake.

Miranda took it and firmly shook, releasing it as she answered, "Miranda Lawson. A pleasure to meet you, Tali."

Tali opened her mouth to say something, when from within the room came the sound of some sort of circuit shorting and a shout of laughter, and a dark haired girl raced out, followed closely by a blonde boy.

"I am never trusting you again, Vakarian!" A middle aged man was shaking his fist after them, laughing heartily. "That's the last time you touch my omni-tool! And you're banned from this classroom, Shepard!"

"Guess I can't come to class later!" shouted the girl back at him, waving and laughing. The pair turned a corner and they disappeared—Miranda shook her head and turned to complain to Tali, and found herself mystified when she couldn't find her. She craned her head forward, wondering where she was, finding her in front of the teacher.

"Father, are you alright?" Concern reflected in her dark eyes, but the man waved it away.

"I am fine, Tali. Now, come in, all of you, the bell is about to ring." Right on cue, the bell for classes to begin chimed, and he ushered them all in—Tali hung back, looking rather dejected, entering alongside Miranda.

"We should sit together," Miranda said with a toss of her hair, leaving no room for argument. Tali merely smiled at her and nodded, and together they took their seats by the window, towards the front of the room.

A smoking omni-tool lay portentously on Mr. Rayya's desk, and he just chuckled at it and picked it up, throwing it into a storage closet.

"In my class," he said, turning to face his pupils. "You will learn to manipulate your omni-tool to the fullest of its abilities. Some of you may have a knack for summoning drones; others, like Vakarian, will have a flair for being able to manipulate an overload of electricity in such a manner that it can incapacitate organics for a good amount of time. However, he needs some work on his Overload, as it only stunned me for a few seconds." He shook his head and turned to the whiteboard, picking up a stylus and beginning to write upon it.

"I am Mr. Rael Rayya, and I shall be your instructor on Advanced Technological Advances and Design."

Miranda zoned out as he droned on and on about the invention of the omni-tool, from its prototypes to the modern day version; she'd already read about this in the assigned book for the class. She sighed a little and looked out the window, still thinking about the brunette that had raced out of the classroom. Who did she think she was? Harming a teacher and having the audacity to talk back to him? She hmph'd softly and snapped to attention when she heard attendance being called.

"Larkin, Benjamin?"

"Here!"

"Lawson, Miranda Yvonne?"

"Present," she answered, raising her hand. He moved onto the next student, a Madrigal, Anastasia, and she went back to her world, allowing herself to be consumed with thoughts of that Shepard girl.

Just who the hell was she?


	3. Chapter 3 - Physical Education

Miranda sat on the bleachers with the rest of her classmates, looking bored as the gym teacher droned on about the importance of good physical education, and how their biotics needed to be trained properly. She rolled her eyes. She _was _good at biotics; that was one of the biggest reasons she'd gained entrance to the school.

"Now, we're going to head on over to the simulator—one of your elder classmates will be showing you exactly what I mean; she's the best biotic in the school."

Tali sidled next to Miranda, who gave her a pleased smile.

"Ready to see whatever it is they're going to show us?"

Tali shrugged. "I'm not very good with my biotics. I'm much more of the Engineer type, but here you have to learn a little of everything."

Miranda pulled the girl to sit with her in the middle of the seats, towards the front rather than the back, so they could see everything that this student could do up close. A look of shock and something like disgust crossed Miranda's face when she saw the snarky brunette from the morning, stretching and rolling her shoulders.

"Really? Her?" Miranda snorted derisively. Tali nudged her.

"Shh. They're about to begin."

The teacher pressed a button, speaking into a microphone, "Helene, are you ready?"

They looked at each other with an arched brow as a piano began to play, glancing back at the girl, who gave a thumbs up and jumped down into the simulator—it dissolved around her and turned into an arena, a boy around her age stepping out.

She called, bringing up her fists, "Thought you knew better than to challenge me, Alenko!"

"We all know who the better biotic is, Shepard," he called back. They stepped closer together.

"Ready…. FIGHT!"

Miranda watched Shepard intently, realizing she was moving in time to the music; her steps were fluid, her punches fully charged. She winced as Alenko was thrown back with a well timed warp to the stomach, then gasped as Helene was picked up and slammed to the ground.

Helene just laughed and got up, concentrating hard, glaring as Alenko rose—her hand was beginning to glow, bright, brighter, and just as the other student rushed up to hit her, she released blue energy on him.

"A shockwave," Miranda whispered in awe. She watched Alenko go flying as the energy slammed into him, nearly landing every now and then, before slamming into the floor, hard. Shepard hopped up onto platforms that appeared in front of her, leaving Alenko twitching and groaning; she was still moving in time to the music.

Miranda gave a harder listen to whatever the song was, able to catch some lyrics before it came to a musical interlude: "My heart is nuclear/Love is all that I fear/Ready to be let down/Now I'm heading for a meltdown!" Appropriate, considering a lot of element zero radiation is what gave people biotics.

Still, this Shepard girl had her full attention, and she watched her race through the rest of the sim, using her biotics to literally fly at one point; and then, jealousy took hold of her heart.

'Who does she think she bloody is? Best biotic in the school?' Miranda frowned, the action marring her pretty face. 'I'll show _her _best biotic in the school. I'll show them all.'


	4. Chapter 4 - Choir

After a quiet lunch shared with Tali (in which they traded with each other—Miranda hated salads and Tali despised curry,) the girls parted ways; Tali was off to a class on engineering drive cores (whatever those were—Miranda didn't really know much about engineering,) and she was off to her chosen elective of choir. The door was open and there were a few students in groups, chattering and glancing at one group that had gathered on the stage in the room—they all held instruments, with a ponytailed brunette quietly speaking to them. They all seemed to come to an agreement, and she turned around; Miranda frowned as she saw the Shepard girl, hesitating in the doorway.

"Excuse me," said someone softly, and past her brushed a tall, handsome blond boy.

"Kane!" Shepard bounced off the stage and wrapped him in a hug. "How's my baby brother," she cooed in a saccharine voice.

"You're three minutes older than me, Lena," he grumbled, shoving her head.

"It's still enough," she noted, hopping back on stage. "We've been waiting for you."

"Yeah, yeah, well you know how Pressely gets." He went over to a side room and rustled around for something, Miranda still standing in the doorway.

She glanced towards Lena (that's what he'd called her, right?) and their eyes locked. Dark blue on ice, and the elder girl's eyes shone with… Something. She wasn't sure what.

"You gonna stay there in the door way, or are you coming into class?" She said it low enough for Miranda and her friends to hear, but not enough to embarrass her by drawing the attention of the rest of their classmates. Miranda tossed her hair proudly, sticking her chin in the air and seating herself where she could see everyone, but Shepard would have to turn her head to see her.

"Oye, Kane!" A young woman with dark brown hair pulled into a bun, sitting at the drums, called behind her. She tapped impatiently on the cymbals. "You almost got it or what?"

"Take a breather, Ash," he said calmly, emerging with an electric guitar. He was wiping it free of dust with a cloth. "You know Archer likes to dick around with our stuff."

Ash sighed and rubbed the top of her drums. "Yeah, he does. _Pinche gringo, tocando mis tambores,"_ she muttered angrily. Miranda raised a brow. Swearing at a teacher? It wasn't in English, but regardless…

"Okay, okay, are we already ready already?" Lena tapped her foot impatiently as she grabbed hold of the microphone.

"God, Helene, let me make sure my bass is tuned at least!" A dark skinned young man with blue eyes complained, quickly testing the bass.

"_Callate, _Steve," Ash hissed at him, glancing at Lena.

Helene glared at them all, turning around to face them. "_Now _are we ready? Christ," she huffed, crossing her arms.

"Yes, yes, we're ready," Kane responded, taking out a pick. The room had gone silent and one of their classmates had shut the door. Helene turned back to the mic and took a deep breath, letting it out slowly.

Kane strummed slowly, his fingers moving up and down the neck skillfully—Ash tapped the snare and, next thing Miranda knew, they had launched into a song.

"You sit there in your heartache," crooned Helene, taking the mic into both hands. "Waitin' on some beautiful boy to—to save you from your old ways; you play forgiveness, watch it now, here he come!"

Miranda sat, trying not to go slack-jawed yet again at the raw talent that this girl had; it simply wasn't fair. Miranda was genetically modified to be perfect in anything and everything—and she was, if she set her mind to it enough.

But this girl… This infuriating girl, Helene Shepard, was just a _natural._ She was a powerful biotic, she sang like a bloody siren, she was beautiful; and that was what got Miranda so absolutely furious. The only thing she could own were her mistakes—everything else was the product of her genetics. This girl obviously had little to no modification, and yet she was just _amazing._

Miranda had worked her entire life trying to be perfect, live up to her father's standards; every day was the same. He ignored her accomplishments, told her she was supposed to do that anyway, and picked at every mistake she made. Yet here was someone who seemed to be perfect in every bloody way, and they didn't even have to try, and that incensed Miranda.

She realized Lena was looking her way now, singing at her. "He doesn't look a thing like Jesus—but he talks like a gentleman, like you imagined when you were young!"

Steve and Ash echoed, "Talks like a gentleman, like you imagined when—"

"When you were you-ung!" Those icy blue eyes bored into her. It sent a shiver down her spine; it was as if Shepard were trying to read her, solve her like a puzzle. "But more than you'll ever know." She shook her hips in time to the last of the song, grinning at the rest of their classmates who cheered and whistled, calling for an encore.

Lena gave them an exaggerated bow, before turning and gesturing to her band—the class laughed and cheered for them as well. Their heads perked at the sound of shoes coming down the hallway and the makeshift band scattered to sit, taking seats five down from Miranda.

Miranda turned to the door, watching as a very haggard looking man walked in; his ginger hair had streaks of white in it, and he was balding, for that matter. As she was closest to the door, Miranda had a clipboard rather violently shoved into her hands; she stared after the man as he went into a back office, slamming the door and sitting at his desk, setting his head on his arms.

She arched a brow in distaste and looked down at what she'd been given—a list of the students' names? What the hell was she to do with this?

A warm hand lightly touched her right arm, and she looked in that direction to see Shepard right next to her; the elder girl took the clipboard from her hand and took out a pen, smiling and winking at Miranda. Miranda merely narrowed her eyes at her, crossing her arms and leaning back in her chair, observing the class.

To be quite honest, none of them were as interesting as Helene Shepard and her little crowd. The rest of the students seemed plain-faced and boring as compared to the aura that the people sitting only a few paces from her gave off. She started when her name was called, looking up at Lena.

"With the look you're giving me, I'm going to guess that you're Miranda Yvonne?" That infuriating smirk was still on her face, those icy blue eyes twinkling again. Her voice was low enough only for Miranda to hear; not like anyone was paying attention to them again.

Miranda answered coolly, "And what is it to you that I am?" She raised both brows at Helene, her mouth twisting slightly in displeasure. Why was this damnable Shepard girl so hard to read?

"Because if you aren't, I'm going to have to mark you absent," Lena replied, marking her as 'present.' "I'll let it slide this time, Lawson, but I'd appreciate a 'yes,' or a 'no,' or a 'yes, I'm Miranda Yvonne Lawson, it's a pleasure to meet you, thank you for singing to me earlier.'" Shepard moved away from her and finished calling out the names of their classmates, leaving Lawson to glare after her in fury. What an arrogant ass! She clenched her fists and resisted the urge to slap her with a Singularity, before remembering that 1) her Singularity was still rather unstable, and 2) Helene Shepard was one hell of a biotic, and she'd certainly get her ass kicked if she tried anything of the sort.

"Hey," a quiet male voice startled Miranda out of her reverie, and she turned to her right to see Kane (that's what Lena had said his name was right?) Shepard sitting next to her.

"Hey?" She gave him a questioning look, glancing at his twin's turned back.

"Don't mind Lena," he murmured. "She's arrogant, to be sure, but she means well. She doesn't like seeing people alone. If you come sit with us, she won't bother you. …Well, she might bother you, but she won't be breathing down your neck." He slipped away, sitting next to Steve (at least, Miranda was _pretty _sure his name was Steve,) the dark haired girl behind him taking her feet down from his seat.

Miranda glanced at Helene's back again, listening to her call out the last name.

"Williams, Ashley _Madeline?"_ She threw a smirk behind her back at Ash, who looked livid.

"_Here,_" she said through gritted teeth, glaring at Lena, who grinned at her and marked her 'present.'

While Shepard went over to give their teacher the attendance list, Miranda picked up her bag and quietly sat next to Ash. Kane turned his head slightly, smiling and giving her a nod, the latter of which Miranda returned.

Maybe she'd find out why that Shepard girl was so infuriating now.


	5. Chapter 5 -- The Niece

**AN: I apologize again for the lateness and the poor quality of this chapter. I'm working on chapter 6 and plan on making it much longer! Thank you all so much for your patience! And if you ever want to suggest a chapter theme, don't be shy-drop me a line!**

Lena rushed into the locker room, hurriedly dumping her duffle bag on the floor to get dressed in her gym clothes. She yanked them out along with her sports bra, stripping quickly to her underwear, unhooking her bra. She breathed a sigh of relief as they were released from their pushed-up confines and drew the sports bra over her head, pulling it down.

"Shepard! Hurry it up!"

Lena shrieked and went bright red, hunching over. "M-Ms. T'loak! I'm _naked!_"

"It's nothing I haven't already seen, Shepard. Now hurry. It. Up. Your brother gets here bright and early. Why didn't you?!"

"B-Because I had to change my schedule!" She yanked down her bra and grabbed the blouse to pull it on, donning the shorts and tucking her blouse in, making sure her sneakers were tied tightly.

"Well hurry your ass up already," Aria snapped, leaving the room. Lena leaned against the lockers for a second, trying to catch her breath and calm herself down.

Aria T'loak was the youngest teacher at Vyrnnus at twenty-four, and the best looking by a long shot. There was a joke that went around, though everyone knew it really couldn't be—there were two kinds of people at the school: people with a crush on Aria and liars. Lena happened to fall into the former category. She couldn't help it—she had a thing for women with dark hair and blue eyes.

She walked out, bobby pins in her mouth as she twisted her ponytail around its base, pinning her hair in place so it wouldn't be in the way. Aria was standing on the bleachers, talking about what being in her class entailed—namely, hardcore biotics, and if you weren't up for that, you had better get out of her gym, because she was not going to be weeding anyone out—if you were up for it, you were, and if you weren't, you failed.

She glanced at the door as it opened, a regal, solemn faced woman walked in, a shy, round faced girl following her.

"Who's that girl with Samara?" Lena recognized the voice of Brooklyn, one of the school gossips.

"I don't know… Message Liz. She probably knows." Of course. Where Brooklyn was, Elizabeth and Chase were not far behind; the three worst gossips the school knew, though it was useful when you really needed to know something, whether it was a pop quiz or who was dating whom and if they were fighting or not. Lena had stayed on their good side, so their lips were sealed when it came to any and all secrets they knew about her.

"Liz said her name's Liara T'soni. Samara's niece. Just transferred here from some school in Barcelona. Shit, I want to go to Barcelona…"

"L4 implants… powerful biotic… She's related to Samara so no wonder. Hmm… Nothing on her yet."

Liara, for her part, was scuffing the floor with the toe of her shoe, looking up when Aria spoke to her, quietly responding to her questions. She had short red hair, big blue eyes, and a smattering of freckles all over her face. She was honestly pretty cute, but could have done with a little bit of makeup; her face was pale, with dark circles under her eyes.

"Shepard! Front and center," Aria called. Both Shepard twins bounded up, trying to shove each other out of the way.

"She was asking for me, skyscraper."

"She obviously meant me, shortstack."

"Shepard," Samara's calm tone cut through their argument immediately, and they stood at attention. "This is my niece, Liara T'soni. I would greatly appreciate it if both of you were to be her guides here at school." She gently nudged the girl forward who smiled nervously at the twins.

"Hello," Lena smiled, holding out her hand. "I'm Helene Shepard. A pleasure to meet you, Liara."

Liara tentatively took her hand and shook it, shaking Kane's in turn when he introduced himself.

Aria and Samara spoke for a few seconds more and then the elder woman was off, striding out the door with all the regality expected of her.

"Alright you two, I want you at the far end of the gym with her, teaching her how to charge and use a proper shockwave."

She clapped them both on the back, and Lena could have sworn Aria's hand linger just a little too long on her back. She hazarded a glance over her shoulder at their teacher; Aria smirked and winked, before going back to shout at the rest of the students to get their asses in gear.

Lena's face with a shade of pleasant red.

Oh _yes. _This class was _definitely _going to work out.


	6. Chapter 6 - Illusions

Miranda raised a brow as Owen pulled up the driveway; there was an unfamiliar car in the drive, and she always was suspicious when her father had visitors. She gathered her bag and thanked Owen for driving her back, walking up the steps and wondering what awaited her within.

Her father was laughing and smoking on the outside patio with someone, a young man standing a ways from them. Henry turned, as if sensing Miranda's presence, motioning with a finger for her to come outside, and now. She hung her schoolbag on the coatrack, straightening her skirt and flicking her hair behind her shoulder, walking outside.

"There she is!" She was drawn into a one armed hug by her father, and she forced a smile at his compatriot, trying her hardest not to let her nose wrinkle at the scent of cigar and cigarette smoke in the air. "This is my Miranda Yvonne. Miranda, this is Jack Harper, one of my business partners." He squeezed her shoulder in what looked like an affectionate manner to people, but that was his 'you had better not fuck up anything in his presence' squeeze.

Mr. Harper held out a hand to her, which she shook, and he smiled at her, which, frankly, creeped her out. His smile seemed warm enough, but it didn't reach his eyes in any way; they were a cold, steel blue, like a winter's afternoon before a blizzard. Had he been a warmer man, she might have had a little crush on him.

"This is my son, Kai Leng." The young man turned and gave Miranda a once over, nodding solemnly at her, before examining the gardens of the Lawson manor once again. His eyes were the same, chilly blue as his father's, and the straight line of his back marked him as no nonsense. He was wearing the boy's uniform of St. Athame's, a biotics-only private school that Miranda had been extended an invitation to. She hadn't liked the idea of becoming an adept, being comfortable with the uses of tech powers, so she had declined.

Her attention was drawn back to the fathers when her own released her, and the words marriage and contract were put together. She kept a careful, disinterested mask on, anger boiling in her as her father began bartering with Mr. Harper like she was a piece of meat.

She was to marry Kai Leng when they reached the age of twenty, and their families' businesses combined. Heirs were to be produced within two years, or the marriage would be annulled, and the Lawson family in shame.

"You can go on and do your homework now, Miranda," Henry said dismissively. Miranda nodded at him and said her polite goodbyes to both Jack and Kai, before leaving to her room to do her homework. As she walked down the hall to her room, her biotics crackled around her in anger, but she forced herself to reign it in.

She knew her father hated her, to be honest, but _really? _Arranging a marriage for her? What, were they in the 19th century? She sighed angrily and brought out her datapad, looking on the school's extranet site for her assignments tonight, doing them quickly and quietly. She almost set aside the pad before the song she'd heard earlier popped into her head again.

"My… heart… is… nuclear…" she muttered to herself as she typed the phrase in, watching as a singer from the early 21st century popped up on the screen. "Marina and the Diamonds…" She leaned over to her bedside table, opening the drawer there and taking out her headphones, putting them on and linking them up to her datapad. She tapped on one of the albums, 'Electra Heart,' and leaned against her pillows listening to the previews of the songs.

"Well, Shepard might be a total ass," she muttered, swiping her finger to purchase all the albums Marina had let out, "But she has damn good taste in music."


	7. Chapter 7--Ad Nauseum

**Thank you all for your patience. I have the next chapter on the way; it should be up by tomorrow night!**

The weeks went by quickly for Miranda, who fell easily into her routine of school—Mondays were the busiest, a forty-five minute period for each class she had: advanced tech, biotic conditioning, geometry, physics, lunch, choir, English, study of Alliance Council Space Systems

"Miss Lawson."

Miranda turned around, finding Samara calmly looking down at her—she stood ramrod straight and looked her in the eye (as nervous as that made her,) asking, "Yes ma'am?"

"How long have you been biotically trained?"

Miranda blinked, and then thought about it for a few seconds. "Since… well, since I was fitted for my amp, ma'am. My father got the best instructors for me. So I'd say about thiiirteen years?" She shrugged. "I apologise for not knowing exactly."

"Quite alright, Miss Lawson. I have merely taken notice that you are very gifted with your biotics—comparable to that of the Shepard twins." Those ice blue eyes, sharper and clearer than her own, scrutinized her; Miranda used all of her willpower not to fidget under the gaze.

"I think you ought to take on one of the upperclassmen, Miss Lawson." Miranda's eyebrows flew upwards, and she looked up at Samara in surprise.

"Ma'am…?"

"I think you would do well against several of them. Might put them in their place. A few are getting… Arrogant."

"Why not have that Shepard girl go against them?" It was an honest question. Helene could soundly beat all of them, probably at the same time.

Samara chuckled. "I said put them in their place, Miss Lawson, not put them in the infirmary. She is a force of nature, and forgets that she must control herself, as she is not fighting her brother."

Miranda laughed weakly, looking at the simulator nervously, then at the crowd of upperclassmen—and her eye fell on one particular boy. He had a pompadour, a slight five o'clock shadow, and was sneering at another classmate, who looked very uncomfortable.

The corners of Miranda's lips quirked downwards.

"Ms. T'Soni, who is that boy there? With the big hair?"

"Ah, that would be Kaidan, Kaidan Alenko. He and Ms. Shepard were your biotic demonstrators on the first day of school. He is exemplary with his biotics."

Miranda turned to her and said bravely, "I want to fight him."

Samara's brows rose imperceptibly. "Are you absolutely certain, Miss Lawson? Mr. Alenko might not be at the standards of the Shepard twins, but I rarely, if ever, allow anyone to take him on, even someone with your talents."

"Please, ma'am." Miranda looked deep into Samara's eyes; the girl did not flinch, she merely stood straighter as Samara searched her face for any fear.

"Helene! Come here." Helene bounded up, standing at attention.

"Yes ma'am?" Her eyes wandered to Miranda and Lena quirked a half-smile at her, before becoming serious and paying Samara the attention due to her.

"Please escort Miss Lawson to the locker rooms and help her get prepared for the simulator." She slipped away from them and went over to Kaidan.

And now they were alone. Miranda stared warily at Helene, who stretched up, up, up, clasping her hands together and standing up on her tip-toes, her gym blouse riding up her torso and revealing a smooth expanse of muscles, dotted with freckles. Miranda looked away quickly, realising she was wondering whether those freckles also trailed down to her legs.

"Let's go," Lena said, rolling her neck, motioning for Miranda to follow. They trudged into the girls' locker room, where Miranda was led up to a locker no one had been able to open—with a swipe of Shepard's finger, however, it opened up to her, revealing armour.

"Alright, Lawson, let's get you into some armour, hm?" Lena began picking through them, looking at the sizes. "What size are you?"

"I'm sorry?" Miranda's brows furrowed.

"Yeah, what size are you? Your gym uniform size?"

"Oh… I'm not sure, actually."

"C'mere," Lena motioned forward and Miranda tentatively stepped forward. "Turn around." Miranda did as she was bid, and shuddered when she felt fingers brush her amp, feeling her blouse tugged downward.

"You're a medium. M'kay…" Lena let go of the blouse and turned back; Miranda sat down on the bench, holding her head—on occasion, there were neurological oddities that occurred when one's amp was touched. Hers was nausea.

Lena turned back with a chestplate, and immediately went over to her, setting the plate on the floor. She kneeled in front of Miranda.

"Hey, you okay?"

Miranda weakly shook her head, stilling it immediately. That had just made the nausea worse.

"What's wrong?" It was odd to hear that snappy, obnoxious voice sounding so gentle and soft.

"You touched my amp," Miranda mumbled. "Made me nauseous."

She felt Helene leave her side, then jumped when her hair was pushed aside and a damp cloth applied to her amp—she felt her nausea leave her almost instantaneously, and pulled a paper towel off her neck, while Shepard went back to picking out her armour.

"I have panic attacks when people touch my amp," she said quietly. "I found putting a cool, damp cloth on your amp help soothe it."

Miranda quietly watched her as she continued pulling out the armour, motioning for her to stand, and watching as Helene expertly attached each piece onto her—except her thigh plates. Those she told Miranda to strap on herself.

"Don't want to get too friendly with you," she shrugged. "I'm gonna pull your hair back, is that alright?"

Miranda shifted uncomfortably in the armour, gingerly sitting down. "Um, go ahead?" Why did she even have to wear armour? Samara never had them put it on in class.

Helene went over to her locker and produced a brush and a hair tie, carefully brushing the other girl's hair up into a tight ponytail, making sure it was secure.

"How do you move in this," Miranda complained, standing and taking a few slow steps.

"Believe me, with Alenko around, you're going to _want _that armour on." She slammed her locker closed with a little more force than necessary. "I'm refereeing the match. C'mon." She grabbed Miranda's hand and pulled her out.

Miranda's palm still tingled where Shepard's hand had been even after she'd been let go of, watching Helene walk up to the platform supported by its own dark energy field, and watch it float towards one end of the simulator.

She swallowed hard and entered the sim; it was time to face off with Alenko.


	8. Chapter 8 -- Who's That Chick

Kaidan was already in place when Miranda walked up to her designated spot. He was jabbing at the air—right hook, uppercut, left cross—looking at himself in the reflective window beyond.

A shrill whistle blew, and they both looked up at the podium where Lena was hovering above them. It lowered to eye level and she motioned them both in.

"I want a good, clean fight. I'm going to be keeping an eye on you, Alenko," she snarled. "No tech powers, no funny business, biotics only. I will _personally _stop the fight if I see anything I don't like. Hands in."

Kaidan's lips moved Helene as she spoke, silently mocking her. He stuck his hand in, to shake Miranda's—she put hers on his and yelped as a shock ran up her arm, Alenko snickering, shouting when he received a sharp jab to the side of his head.

"I said no funny business, Alenko, and _I mean it._ Go get in your fucking spot," Lena spat, turning to Miranda. "Hold on. Let your shields recharge. Aren't you glad you have the armour?"

Miranda nodded, slowly coming out of her daze. She blinked hard, and looked at Lena, who was holding up four fingers.

"How many fingers do I have up," she asked seriously.

"Four."

"Alright. Go to your spot, 'Randa." She floated back up before Miranda could say anything about the nickname, going to the area she'd been assigned.

A feminine voice called out, "Match begins in 3… 2… 1… Fight!"

She barely had time to react as a blast of blue-white energy was hurled towards her—it singed her hair as she rolled out of the way, hiding behind a rock.

"Come on now, Lawson," Kaidan jeered. "You're making this no f—SHIT!" He was caught off guard as a mass of dark energy slapped him in the face—Miranda looked pissed, her barrier glowing.

"You wanna play," he growled. "We'll play." He began throwing warp after warp, while Miranda rolled behind cover, timing her warps between his—she caught him several times in the chest, and he was getting angrier and angrier at her skill.

"Fuck this," he hissed to himself, bringing up his omni-tool. Just as Miranda came out of cover, he threw a ball of electricity at her—Miranda screamed in pain as it wracked her body, hearing warning beeps from the armour, warning her her shields were at half. She fell to the ground, supporting herself on her knees and forearms, panting, hearing it quietly blip as they charged again, vaguely hearing Helene screaming obscenities at Alenko, the fence around the platform rattling.

She tried to crawl out of the way, only to go flying a few feet further as another wave of Overload hit her. Miranda cried out as she was slammed into one of the rock barrier's she'd previously used for cover, hearing the metal fence rattling much more desperately. Kaidan was approaching her now, a glowing ball of blue and white energy swirling in his hand.

"Say night-night, Lawson," he grinned, shoving her stomach with his foot so she was looking up at him. He raised his fist, and she closed her eyes, bracing for the impact—but it didn't come.

She slipped in and out of consciousness briefly, watching as Kaidan was thrown into the wall by a blur of purple-white energy—Helene was beating his face in, shouting threats and curses. Shepard was thrown off by Samara, who had rushed into the sim as soon as she saw Kaidan's omni-tool out.

She roared at Lena, who looked like she was about to go for Kaidan again, "Get Lawson to the infirmary, _now_!"

Wordlessly, Miranda was scooped up like a bride into Helene's arms. Her face was a terrifying mask of calm, but Miranda could see the rage trembling at the corners of her lips.

As she slipped into darkness, Miranda couldn't help but notice what pretty lips Helene had.


	9. Chapter 9 -- The Infirmary

**You all can thank the ever lovely gingerpunches for helping me write this chapter!**

"Ms. Shepard, I need you to leave."

"I'm not leaving, ma'am."

"Helene, this procedure is very dangerous-even I get a shock from it."

"Then let me do it! I'm a biotic."

Karin Chakwas glared down at the young lady before her, who had her arms crossed and obviously wasn't budging from Ms. Lawson's bedside any time soon. She sighed, pushing the barrier generator towards her.

"You know how to do this?"

"Dr. Chakwas." Lena raised a brow and looked at her. "It's me?"

"Of course. You'd best be careful, either way," she warned, exiting the infirmary, watching through the large picture window.

Lena took a deep breath, grabbing the top end of the generator-she didn't flinch as a tendril of biotic energy shot out at her hand, shocking it, as she reached for Miranda's fingers.

Her amp was overheated-she had an excess of energy that could only be released one safe way, and that was into a generator. Lena knew this procedure all too well, but she'd been conscious when it happened.

She grabbed Miranda's hand at last, not caring about the burns that were forming on her own hands, swearing loudly as her muscles jerked and stiffened, her body the conduit between the generator and Miranda.

She closed her eyes, gritting her teeth. She was a Shepard. Shepards didn't back down from helping others. She managed to brace her feet more firmly, feeling the shocks and pain of being attacked by biotics as it flowed from her left hand to her right, the generator filling slowly.

And as sudden as the pain was there, it was gone. The generator whirred to life softly, Lena releasing Miranda's hand and slowly tapping on it to shut it down. She dragged it back to the storage room, getting a washcloth from where Dr. Chakwas had them, running it under cool water and walking over to Miranda.

With a hand surprisingly gentle for her, of all people, she flipped her onto her stomach, moving aside her ponytail and placing the cloth there, making certain it wouldn't fall.

"You can come back in now," she called aloud, Dr. Chakwas entering.

"Thank you, Helene. You may go back to class now."

She shook her head. "I was assigned to watch over her, so I'm going to."

"There is no deterring you ever, is there?" Chakwas shook her head with a small smile, sitting at her desk and going back to her paperwork.

Lena sat in a chair by Miranda's cot, pulling up her omni and telling the gang where she was, and to bring a couple of extra lunches-she was ravenous after an exertion like that, and she knew without a doubt Miranda would be when she woke up.

"Have you ever seen your sister move that quickly?"

Kane shrugged. "I've seen her move pretty fast. But it seems like she's learning as much as the first years are - that was even quicker than _I_ move."

Vega snorted from Kane's right side. "Show-off."

"No," Kane said. "Honest."

A collective groan sounded from behind him, making Kane smile, just a bit. He was worried about Miranda - they sort of all were - but Chakwas was the best doctor the universe had ever trained, so he really wasn't thinking much about it. Really he was more concerned with Lena's behavior, her knee-jerk reaction to save Miranda instead of containing Kaidan the red flag that worried him most.

He nudged the infirmary door open with his shoulder and held it open with his foot, allowing the rest of the students behind him inside. Tali, Garrus, and he were holding extra lunches, his loaded with nothing but water bottles. Chakwas looked mildly surprised as the large gaggle of students walked through her door, but she smirked and turned back to her desk when she and Kane met eyes - he tried not to grin, intent on keeping the stone face he knew would set Lena off.

"Food for the ladies," Garrus said, setting down his tray next to Tali's on the table next to the gurney Miranda rested on. Kane set his down too, eyeing the rag on Miranda's amp, the tensed up coil Lena's shoulders had become, and stepped back to Vega and Steve.

"Thank you," Lena said. She smiled and took a water bottle, chugging half of it before snapping the cap back on. "She's supposed to be up in a few minutes; her amp wasn't too overheated."

Tali sidled over to her friend, sitting across from Lena, her food perched on her knees.

"Is she going to be alright?" Her brow was furrowed. "I know Overload can screw up everything, but even I haven't heard of an amp overheating from it."

"She had been trying to ready a barrier," Lena half-but-not-really-explained, accepting a hamburger from her brother and opening the wrapper, biting into it. She chewed slowly and watched Miranda stir, then glanced up as Ash, Vega, and Cortez walked in, arguing in Spanish over something or other.

Ash immediately took up a spot by Lena, leaning her head on her shoulder, Helene leaning her head on top of Ash's-Vega cast them a strange look, but sat on a cot himself, digging into a box of fries from the bag he carried.

They all ate in silence, Lena still staring at Miranda, twitching any time she stirred.

Just as she finished her burger, crumpling the wrapper, Miranda shot up, gasping and panting for breath-Lena shot up and took her face in her hands, leaning close and speaking soothing words, watching as the wild, terrified look slowly left her eyes and she began to relax. At last, she was able to sit up, Ash passing Lena food, and Lena passing it up to Miranda.

Miri's nose wrinkled as she accepted the hamburger, asking, "Fast food? Really?"

Lena shrugged. "After an exertion like that, believe me-you're going to want the fat and carbs that come with it." She opened another burger for herself and bit into it, chewing contently.

Miranda's lips twisted in displeasure, but she daintily opened the wrapper and took a small bite, holding back a pleased noise-she wasn't going to tell anyone, but this was the first time she'd ever had fast food. Her father had banned any sort of thing from his house, and, as he monitored her finances very closely, she couldn't buy any for herself.

Everyone looked up as someone walked in; it was Liara. She was cradling her hand against her chest, sheepishly asking Dr. Chakwas for a bandaid-she'd cut her palm open by accident during art class.

Lena glanced at Ash, (whose brows had gone up and her eyes wide,) grinning to herself. She knew that look.

She nudged Ash in the ribs, muttered that it wasn't polite to stare, before settling and occasionally glancing at Miranda. She grabbed her drink, which had two straws in it, sipping and offering the other straw to Miranda-she stared at it, and then tentatively accepted, sipping the drink slowly.

The whole lot of them couldn't stay in that room for long - most of them ended up leaving, giving excuses or heading to class. By the time Chakwas waved most of them out, Kane and Steve were the only ones left waiting with Lena and Miranda. Kane really didn't want to say anything, especially with Miranda there, but she had gone with Chakwas to the other end of the room to get her amp core taken out and looked at. He had time.

"So what was that stunt back there?" Kane asked.

Lena turned to look at her brother, her eyes previously trained on Miranda's slightly pained face. Kane stared. "What stunt?"

"The one where you went for Miranda instead of Alenko - you should have been there to contain him. Samara shouldn't have to intervene. You've been refereeing for how long?"

Steve elbowed him in the ribs, giving him a look that said "stop teasing!"; but Kane couldn't let up. Lena was already growing mildly defensive. She knew what she did.

"What's your problem? I thought you were on _my_ side," Lena accused. She hissed her next words, her already quiet voice grating. "I did what I had to in the moment."

"Which was... not stopping the problem?"

"The fight is over! Alenko is in a holding cell! Miri is _fine_-"

"When did you start calling her _Miri_?"

"Both of you!" Steve snapped. Chakwas and Miranda glanced over at Steve's raised voice, but continued cleaning Miranda's amp core, the corroded surface nasty and black. "Is that really how you should be approaching this, Kane?"

_Of course_, he wanted to say. This was his sister. One minute she's crushing on Aria, and the next she's jerking into action over Miranda, possibly one of the most dangerous people at the school - if not for her own biotic power, but for her dad's political pull in nearly anything he could get his hands on. Kane didn't want to admit it, but he was afraid that if Lena got mixed up in this, she could get hurt.

"I would advise you to keep your big nose out of my business, _Kane,_" she grumbled, crossing her arms and glaring at him. "You of all people _know_ that Alenko did the same goddamn thing to me freshman year. And, I'm sorry, was breaking his nose not enough to contain him? And didn't you see Samara use a Throw on me so I couldn't go for him again?"

She made a noise of displeasure and stood, moving away to stand by the window, glaring at her reflection. It was times like these she wanted to punch Kane in the face. Stupid annoying younger brother.

But he was right, like it or not. She had _personally_ carried Miranda away, not allowing anyone to touch her; he knew just as well as she did that her Charge had been absolutely flawless, and it was only such when she was trying to protect someone. And also pissed as all hell.

Miranda was young though. Impressionable. Her grip on her upper arms tightened. A slimeball like Kaidan would walk all over her, especially after almost having beaten him today. She wasn't going to let that happen to Miranda.

She wasn't letting him do that to any girl, ever again.

Steve was giving him _the look_. It said apologize to your sister, or you're never getting the same amount of respect ever again. Kane didn't particularly want to apologize, but he knew this meant a lot to his sister, especially that he knew she knew her mistakes. He didn't need to walk all over her some more.

"I'm sorry," he said quietly. He didn't turn around, but he knew she was listening to him, and taking his words to heart. "I shouldn't have said that. You knew what you were doing. Just... be careful."

_Around her_ didn't have to be said. She may not like it, but Lena was smarter than she led on, and knew her brother didn't like Miranda. The girl herself was nice, sure - but her family was dangerous. One so dangerous Lena didn't need to be mixed up in it.

She half turned to him, raising a brow.

"You act like I like her," she said, looking displeased. The slight quirk of his lips told her everything. She lowered her voice more and hissed, "You are such an ass! Kane, you know who I like, and it isn't her. I just feel bad for her! You didn't see the look _Alenko_ gave her."

She gave him a look, and Kane knew almost immediately how Kaidan had been looking at Miranda-like she was a piece of meat, and he a dog, wondering how best to devour her. It had been the exact same look he'd given Lena-and they both knew how that turned out.

"I know what I'm doing, Kane," she said quietly.

"I'm sorry." He put an arm around her shoulders and squeezed her to him. Her body was still stiff, but her head sagged against his chest. "I really am. I just... I know how you get."

"Connections - you make them easier than I do," he continued. "And don't pretend you don't see it. Because if I do, you do, so don't play the "I just feel bad for her" card. I know you."

"I'll play the "feel bad for her" card if I goddamn want to, Kane," she said low. "Because I do. You're seeing shit that isn't there. So quit it."

He backed away, feeling like he needed to leave. Steve was glaring daggers at his back, and Lena's stare wasn't much better. "Just. Come talk to me later today. I think all of this needs to be put behind us, but we need to talk. Alone."

Steve snorted "Alone!" behind his back as the two of them left, leaving Lena behind in the infirmary with Miranda. He was quiet, though, after that, setting Kane on edge - Steve loved talking, and almost couldn't stop sometimes. But he ignored him. He knew he was a dick to his sister - he didn't need his boyfriend to tell him otherwise.


End file.
